Why is that wide shots appear much much softer than closeups or medium shots. Especially in landscapes. Is the resolution discrepancy a result of the lens being used or are there other factors in resolving objects in a distance? And is the soft look 'real' or just 'perceived', meaning closeups just seem sharper because you're perceiving a single object in a finite space.

It's mainly an optical illusion -- your eye wants to see more fine detail in a wide shot, whereas in a close-up with a lot of the background out-of-focus, what's in focus not only therefore looks sharper by being framed against a soft background, but the fine detail visible is often more than adequately sharp. In fact, sometimes it's too much detail, which is why we might diffuse a close-up.

There is also the issue of atmospheric haze -- a face is often much closer to the lens than a landscape, so you're looking through less atmosphere.

Baltazar, you need to edit your Display Name to a real first and last name, as per the forum rules. Go to "My Controls" to do this. Thanks.